Dermatophyte is a common label for a group of 3 types of fungi that commonly causes skin disease in animals and humans. These anamorphic (asexual or imperfect fungi) genera are: Microsporum, Epidermophyton and Trichophyton. There are about 40 species in these 3 genera.
Dermatophytes cause infections of the skin, hair and nails due to their ability to obtain nutrients from keratinized material. The organisms colonize the keratin tissues and inflammation is caused by host response to metabolic by-products. They are usually restricted to the cornified layer of the epidermis because of their inability to penetrate viable tissue of an immunocompetent host. However, occasionally the organisms do invade subcutaneous tissues, resulting in kerion development. Invasion does elicit a host response ranging from mild to severe. Acid proteinases, elastase, keratinases, and other proteinases reportedly act as virulence factors.
Systemic fungal infections (SFI) are life-threatening conditions that most commonly affect patients with reduced immunity often resulting from therapeutic interventions to treat malignant diseases. The number of SFI's in modern hospitals keeps increasing, and the number of different fungi that have been involved in SFI is large and still growing. Despite many cases of invasive candidiasis and aspergillosis there has been an increased incidence of infections due to other molds like Scedosporium apiospermum, Fusarium spp., and Zygomycetes, Rhizopus and Mucor spp. Effective therapeutic agents treating all these infections very well therefore need to have very broad spectrum of activity. In the past few decades itraconazole, fluconazole, ketoconazole, and intravenous or liposomal amphotericin B have been used in SFI, and all of these agents have their limitations with regard to spectrum, safety or ease of administration. More recently a third generation of azoles have been investigated and introduced to the market, improving the treatment options in intensive care units. Voriconazole (Vfend™) and posaconazole (Noxafil™) show much improvement of treatment towards life threatening invasive SFI such as candidiasis, aspergillosis, and infections due to Fusarium species at clinical relevant dosages. Moreover posaconazole shows efficacy against infections caused by the emerging Zygomycetes spp. Echinocandins, such as anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin, which are non-competitive inhibitors of 1,3-β-glucan synthesis in fungal cell walls, display high efficacy against Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp., but no activity against Cryptococcus, Fusarium, or Zygomycetes spp. Of all antimycotic agents, azoles still represent a unique class of compounds displaying the broadest antifungal spectrum via inhibition of 14-α-demethylase, an enzyme being essential for ergosterol biosynthesis in fungi.
Onychomycosis is the most common disease of the nails and constitutes about a half of all nail abnormalities. The prevalence of onychomycosis is about 6-8% in the adult population. The causative pathogens of onychomycosis include dermatophytes, Candida, and non-dermatophytic moulds. Dermatophytes are the fungi most commonly responsible for onychomycosis in the temperate western countries; meanwhile, Candida and non-dermatophytic moulds are more frequently involved in the tropics and subtropics. Trichophyton rubrum is the most common dermathophyte involved in onychomycosis. Other dermatophytes that may be involved are Trichophyton interdigitale, Epidermophyton floccosum, Trichophyton violaceum, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton soudanense and Trichophyton verrucosum. Other causative pathogens include Candida and non-dermatophytic moulds, in particular members of the mould generation Scytalidium (also Neoscytalidium), Scopulariopsis, and Aspergillus. 
5,6-Dihydro-4H-pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,4]benzodiazepines have been described in J. Chem. Soc.©, 2732-2734 (1971); J. Heterocyclic Chem., 13, 711-716 (1976); and J. Heterocyclic Chem., 16, 241-244 (1979). The compounds disclosed in these references all have a phenyl moiety in the 4-position and no biological activities were reported in any of these references.
A new synthetic route to aryl(heteroaryl)-annulated pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,4]diazepines has been described in Org. Biomol. Chem., 8, 3316-3327 (2010).
WO02/34752 describes 4-substituted 5,6-dihydro-4H-pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,4]benzodiazepines as a new class of antifungal compounds. However, WO02/34752 only discloses compounds with a phenyl moiety in the 4-position.
The PhD thesis of De Wit K. describes the implementation of an in vitro and in vivo mycological evaluation platform and activity profiling of antifungal pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PhD Thesis; University of Antwerp, Belgium; Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences; Department of Biomedical Sciences; 2011; 220 p.).
The antifungal compounds of the present invention or part of the compounds of the present invention are structurally different and may have improved potency, improved metabolic stability properties, improved solubility, improved plasma binding, reduced hERG channel inhibition, reduced cytochrome P450 liabilities, or improved bioavailability compared with compounds disclosed in the prior art. Preferably said compounds have a broad antifungal spectrum, and maintain adequately high therapeutic efficacy and adequately low toxicity or other side effects.
The compounds of the present invention are useful as squalene epoxidase inhibitors.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide novel compounds with antifungal activity to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide useful alternative compounds.